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Army reverses decision, says electronic file lacked details of dismissed murder case
By Jim Carney and Katie Byard
Beacon Journal staff writers
Published on Wednesday, Jun 11, 2008
It was an automated system that selected Erick Anderson to be called back up to active duty in the Army.
The system knew only Anderson's number and that the first lieutenant had been honorably discharged. It did not know Anderson had been charged with two murders in Iraq and eventually was acquitted.
On Tuesday, the Twinsburg native learned he won't have to go back to Iraq.
''Obviously I'm relieved about not having to deploy,'' Anderson said Monday, shortly after U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette's office released an e-mail alert about the Army's decision.
''I think it was a common-sense answer by the Army to a delicate problem,'' said Anderson, 29.
Anderson said the efforts of his attorney, Neal Puckett, and LaTourette, along with news reports ''generated enough pressure that the Army saw they needed to make a quick determination.''
The Army in May had ordered him to report to Fort Benning, Ga., by Aug. 3 — even though he was separated from the Army in 2006, six months after the Army dismissed murder and other charges against him.
He went on Individual Ready Reserve, often called ''inactive ready reserve.''
LaTourette, R-Bainbridge Township, on Monday issued a news release revealing that the Army wanted Anderson to return to Iraq, and that he would call on Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to ''intervene immediately.''
Puckett had been planning to argue
that Anderson suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. LaTourette released a letter Monday showing a military psychiatrist has concluded Anderson suffers from chronic post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his experiences in the Army.
The charges against him involved the deaths of two people in the Sadr City area of Baghdad in August 2004. In each case, two men under his command were convicted in the killings. Anderson maintained his innocence throughout.
Anderson said he found out at about noon Tuesday, after a lieutenant colonel first tried to reach him about 8 a.m. at his mother's home in Twinsburg. Anderson now works as a project engineer for a company in Iowa.
He said he was told his file showed only that he had been honorably discharged from the Army and includes nothing about the charges filed against him and the eventual acquittal.
''So in my electronic file, none of that is in there and it shows I am no different than any other soldier that is given an honorable discharge,'' he said.
''Then what happened was the job I did in the Army, they were unable to fill it,'' he said. ''The only option is to go to the Individual Ready Reserve.''
Anderson said the system selected his number for active duty to fill the position ''because there was no visibility of what happened. They did not know who I was, what I had been through.''
The lieutenant colonel told him that a commanding general ordered that his activation be revoked and said Anderson would not be deployed again. Anderson said he has three more years in the IRR.
Maj. Maria Quon, an Army spokeswoman, confirmed that the Army rescinded the orders.
She said privacy regulations prohibited her from discussing individual soldiers' situations.
Quon did say that when Army workers consider a soldier for mobilization they do not have access to information about dismissed charges.
''There will not be a note [in the soldier's file] that he was accused,'' she said.
Army Lt. Col. Les' Melnyk, a Department of Defense spokesman, said since the global war on terror started, through March 31, there have been 22,285 IRR activations, including officers and enlisted personnel, in all branches of the service — Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard.
LaTourette said he was elated at the decision and ''grateful that the media helped us bring this to the Army's attention and the Army acted so quickly.''
''The lieutenant colonel told him, 'We didn't know who you were yesterday, but we do now.' ''
Anderson's uncle and attorney, Peter Lorenz, said he was surprised at the outcome, given the history of dealing with the government.
''Obviously, I am very pleased that the Army did the right thing here,'' he said.
But, he said, at the same time, ''it almost makes you feel selfish advocating for Erick this strongly. What about the sons and daughters that are over there today?''
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com. Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.
It was an automated system that selected Erick Anderson to be called back up to active duty in the Army.
Get the full article here.
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